e
fugitives, they may be taken when they return to the house, as they
must, sooner or later, in search of food. And one man will remain here
on the wharf, as a watchman and look-out; not that I think there is the
slightest likelihood of the fugitives coming this way, but it is good
generalship to take every possible precaution. And if you, Jose, who
are to remain here, should chance to sight any of the runaways, just
ring the yard bell, and wait for those in the house to join you.

"Now, men, I hope you understand me; those four persons must be found
and brought back to me; the Englishman, alive or dead. The other three
must be brought back to me alive, and, the girl at least, absolutely
uninjured; and remember that in the case of Fonseca, the less he is
injured the more acutely will he suffer from the punishment that I
intend to inflict upon him for his treachery! Now, forward all; to the
house first, and from there spread yourselves over the country in the
direction of False Gap. March!"

Thereupon the whole party, with the exception of one solitary
individual, whom I took to be Jose, who was told off to keep watch and
ward upon the wharf, filed off along the wharf and up the pathway that
led to the house from which we had fled but a few hours before. It took
them some twenty minutes to reach the bungalow, and ten minutes later I
saw a mob of men issue from it and disappear inland. For a few minutes
their shouts could be heard as they called to each other, and then a
dead silence fell upon the scene, broken only by the chirping and
"chirring" of the myriads of insects that haunted the bushy growth with
which the whole face of the country was covered, and the occasional call
of a bird. As for Jose, his first act, upon being left to himself, was
to scrutinise carefully the whole face of the visible country, under the
sharp of his hand, and then seat himself in the shadow of the capstan-
house, light his pipe, and abandon himself to the soothing influence of
the "weed."

Now the happenings of the last hour had set me thinking hard. First of
all, there was Dominique's remark about the impossibility of anyone
escaping inland. During the period of my convalescence I had seen
enough of the country, while wandering about in Lotta's company, to
convince me that this statement might be quite true, although Lotta had
never said a word to lead me to believe that she was aware that it was
so. And if there was no poss